Apparatus for conditioning material



Feb. 19, 193.5. E. c, INGRAHAM V APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING MATERIAL 5 Sheets-Sheell l Filed March 5. 1932 CIR:

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Feb. 19,v 1935. C, |NGRAHAM i y 1,992,007

APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING MATERIAL Filed March 5, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 if i 'lig-- Feb. 19, 1935. E. c. |NGRAHAM APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING MATERIAL sheets-sheet 3 Filed March 5, 1952 ATTDRNEu:

Patented Feb. 19, 1935 UNITED. STATE oFFIcE 7 Claims;

for conditioning. material and, hasspeciali applitcation to tl1e.mulling...of. leather used init-he.

manufacture of shoes; v.

Mulling boxes ofi the. type now inluse. are sub.- jectnto certain limitationsl .and objections', for exampletheir bulk for a. given holding capacity.

airgandrmaterial.; exerts a` drying iniiuence, and

liti: their. rst cost, as` well as the: cost. of operation andi servicing, is prohibitively` high.

The object of.' the; present invention, genericallyspeaking. isgto. provide.. an. apparatus. for. conditioning material,Y whereby the aforesaid 201 limitations and objections. areovercome, and;-

speciiically,v to improve. andssimplify. theA mullinggboxes of. theprior-art` to increase-theueilt-l ciency thereof. v

Witlrthisiobjectinview, my invention involves 95'., ani apparatus for conditioning material `such as leathery and fabrics used in. the manufacture of` shoes; comprising meansl for hurnidifyingA air and fon allowing .the moisture carried by;l the airl so humidied. to -diii'use uniformlyinto .said material 39e While eliminating frictional` contact between the humidied. air and material, whereby uniform. mulling. action is secured.:V The humidiication ofxtheair mayV be. continuous. and is. eifected, preferably,4 in a closed chamber containing the 35.1" materialto be treated, andI prefer to rehumidify theaairv after a portiony of. the moisture carried thereby hasbeen diffusedY into the material.

My invention. involves Aalsoftheuse offa chamber, preferably cylindrical, having v'a hollow mfmember aiording a duct,` whichV may be cen trallyedisposed and, terminates short Vof opposite.` Walls` ofV the chamber, any" suitable air-hu; midifying meansfsuch as an open liquid-container of substantial surface area disposed in 4lzfthelvicinity of said ductandpreferably co-axial therewith, and a low-power.Y impeller arranged nico-operativerelationV with said duct andcontainer, whereby a continuous `circulation of humidifiecl air is created-steadily, slowly and gen- 50'52' tly, or without. force, throughsaidduct sc that-44 theconditioning. gasJ or vapor is allowed to diffuseevenly through the .chamber and into the material,4 supportedY therein...l without. Aanyw fric- 55525 aidsmaterial.`

tionala contact between the humidiiiedair and# the. exterior of theLchamber or to the liquid con- (Cl: 26h-119i)- present inventiontrelates: toan.V apparatus,

Insthe. preferred form; ofemyy invention there is maintained in the chamber a curtain of moving humidied air adjoining-and,` preferably surrounding. thespaceoccupied by.' the material and from: which vapor'v diffuses into such'space andl 5 thence into saidrnaterial. The diffusion 'of-such vapor from the humidifled air 'throughfthechamber and into the material'.tobe.treated Without frictional contact ,betweenA said humidiedA air and material;A as distinguished from forcibly directing ablastof. suchhumidied air into contact with said material, is the salientfeature of my :invention` because. thereby the. drying. action or influence aforesaid is eliminated and the mulling. of such material.isrendered absolutely uniform. y

Preferably means'such as an electrical heating unit areprovidedfor raisingthe temperature of the. liquida,for-.,example, water; with which said container :is..lled, and in sucn case,.the1heating 20 unitjmay be placed inzan inlet'. pipe, so-arranged withrespect to an outlet pipe that-slow circulation of heated liquidsv around the. containeris induced.; Thei aforesaid duet preferably is mounted for: rotation. and. provided with materialesupporting means, such as laterally-extending. hangers orV shelveswhereby the matecondensationk toA they liquid container', thereby keepingtheinnerwalls of the chamber dry and preventing liquidffrom coming intocontact with the material? to be conditioned.Y The top clo- '0 sureof thechamber, preferablyis provided with a flange constructed and arranged to take into said pocket or gutter which `may be formed betweenthe inner and outer walls ofthe chamber and ,into whichv the said liquid' condensation Vis, received.v to.,m,ake an-air-tight orYwater-sealed joint. between said top. closure andchamber, and from which any overflow may be conducted to 50,r tainer,v as desired;

In order to prevent anyl direct impact of humidifiedgair against the material undergoing treatment', lI may, ifi necessary, employ4 a baille extending: f1'-om:tl1e,lower.k end of saidduct out- CII -collar 16 by the spider 28.

wardly toward, but terminating short of, the vertical wall of the chamber.

The bottom-of the chamber preferably is provided with a drain for carrying onc the liquid overilow from the container, aswell as the contents of said container when the latter is emptied for cleaning the same.

'Ihermostatic and time-control devices may be employed in connection with my improved mulling box for the same purposes for which such devices have long been used in various other arts.

Various other details of construction, parts and combination of parts which make up my invention will be hereinafter more fully described and set forth in the appended claims.

My invention will be described in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating apparatus which have given good results in practice, but it is to be understood that said drawings are to be considered as illustrative merely and not restrictive. 1

In the drawings,-

Figure 1 is a central vertical section of an apparatus for conditioning material, specifically, a mulling box for shoe uppers, which embodies my invention;

Fig. 2 is a similar section on an enlarged scale taken on a plane angularly related to that on which the section shown in Fig. 1 is taken;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a central vertical section of a modification.

In the particular drawings selected for more fully disclosing my method and the apparatus whereby the same may be carriedout, 10 is a cylindrical chamber, preferably double-walled and heat-insulated by a packing of mineral wool 11, said chamber having a fixed bottom or baseplate 12 and a removable top closure 13. Secured to the upper portion of the chamber or mulling box in any suitable manner, is an open liquidcontainer 14, herein shown as a at pan having -a depressed or conical bottom 15 and provided with a centrally-disposed collar 16, the upper plane of which is slightly lower than the plane of the upstanding rim 17 of the pan. However,. a humidifier of any other suitable type may beused.

For stiifening the pan or container, an upwardly-directed conical member 18 is connected to said collar 16 and is provided with an upstanding rim 19 overlapping and suitably secured to the` rim of the pan. In the present instance the pan 14 is held in positionby several straps 20, attached at their lower ends to the rim of the member 18, and terminating in hooks 21 taking over the upper edge of the inner wall of the chamber. Any suitable means such as the braces 22 and 23 may be provided to facilitate the positioning and assist in further strengthening the structure, respectively.

Disposed within the chamber centrally as shown, is a hollow member 24 affording a duct or canal, said member being mounted for rotation on the spindle 25, the lower end of which is provided with a thrust bearing 26 and its upper end with the journal 27 supported within the It is to be understood however that any suitable means may be employed to mount said duct rotatablywithin the chamber. The duct preferably is provided with laterally-extending hangers for supporting the material to be treated, and in the present` instance, said hangers Y29, 29 are suitably secured to the spindle and project through the duct, thus affording a convenient means for rotating the spindle and with it, the duct, to bring any desired set of hangers in position for loading or unload- The top closure of the chamber is shown in the present instance as consisting of the upwardlydirected conical member 29 and the stiening disc 30, both of which are suitably attached to the cylindrical rim or ilange 31 which extends into the pocket or gutter 32 formed between the inner and outer walls of the chamber by securing between said walls near the top thereof the U-shaped member 33, the said rim 31 abutting and closely fitting the outer wall of the chamber and the water or other liquid formed in said pocket by condensation on the top closure, as hereinafter more fully explained, effecting an air-tight or water-sealed juncture between said closure and said chamber. When operating the apparatus for the first time a small .quantity ofV liquid may be placed in said gutter.

Disposed above the upper end of the duct is a impeller 34 driven by a motor 35 of relatively low power, for example, one-twentieth horsepower, the said motor and impeller being mounted on the disc 36, preferably corrugated for strength, and said disc being removably secured to the top closure in any suitable manner as, for example,V by the wing-nuts 37. For convenience in handling the motor and impeller, a bail 38 having its feet riveted to the disc 36, is provided. While various means may. be employed for heating the water, or other suitable liquid in' the container 14, I prefer to employ an electrical heating unit 39 disposed in the inlet pipe 40 which enters said container at apoint near the collar 16 where the depth of liquid therein is greatest. Connected with the lower end of said inlet pipe and entering the containerin the same plane as the pipe 40 is an outlet pipe 41, the said pipes being shown in the present instance as terminating in divergent ends directed toward the periphery of the container, as shown in Fig. 3, so that a slow circulatory movement of heated liquid is induced in the latter, and such movement is assisted by the air current created by the impeller. ends of said pipes need not be .divergent and that it is necessary only that they be spaced part. A pipe 42 may be provided for lling the container,

and in the event of accidental overflow` from the.

latter, the excess liquid flows over the edge'of the collar 16 which, as aforesaid, is slightly lower than the plane of the upper edge of said container, and-down through the duct to thebottom .of

It will be understood of course that theV the chamber whence it is Vcarried away by the drain 43. When it is desired to empty the liguld container, the normally-closed valve 44 is opened and the water or other liquid flows throughthe pipes 40, 41 and the extension 45 thereof to the base of the chamberV whenceit is carried away by said drain. v

The use of heated `vapor for mulling shoe parte or other materials is not new but. as abovey stated,

the mulling action effected by the devices nowfin use, is not uniform, chiey because they involve means for forcibly directinghumidified air into contact with the material to be treated.

'I'he salient feature of the present invention consists in so arranging matters that no humidlq ned air is forcibly directed against the material to be conditioned but, on the contrary, the vapor is allowed to diifuse spontaneously and naturally.V

and` without force, thrpugh the. space in which thematral is. hung" and .into YSaid material'. 'iherebrfettng uniformmulline! :Byl means f thev small motor 35,l whichQrequires only afraction of anl electrical horsepower for its'operation, air withinthe chamber, as Vindicated by thearrOWs in Fig. 1, is continuously'refcirculatedthrough the duct andlalong thesurface ofthe liquid in the container 14, thereby humidifying the same, and from said air so humidified the vapor dif- 'fusesthroughthe space'between the duct and the walls of rthe ,chamber in which thermaterial is hung, and into` said material;

It is well kIlOWn thatfri'ctional contact between air and material exerts va drying influence or action on4 such material, and I have 'discovered inthe practice of thisart that no matter what the degree ofthe humidity of the air maybe, the said drying influence vvis exerted whenever there is frictional contact betweenthe air and the material' to be treated and that, therefore, uniform and efficient results cannot be obtained when the moistened air" is forcibly 4directed, into` contact withV theinaterial.l My invention therefore finvolves means foreifecting the diffusion of .moisture in to the air enclosed* within the chamber 10, means' for allowing 'the' moisture to diffuse uniformly into-the material supported in said chambei'` without permitting any` frictional Contact between theV nioistenedairand material, but

carefully eliminating the same, and4 preferably means for replacing into theair the moisture that was removed-therefrom'by diiusing into the material. This is 'accomplished by the design and arrangement-.of the parts to obtain a curtain of movingfhu'midied airadjoining, or as shown in thepreferred'embodiment of my invention surrounding; the Vspaceoccupied by the-material being treated, fromwhich curtain of humidiiied air the vapor diffuses uniformly into the space occupied by the material and thence into the material itself. To further guard-'against any possibility of frictional' contact'between the moistened or humidiiied yair and? the material caused by. the forcible- 'direction of humidified air against such material, IV may provide necessary baffles such as the bafe 4'? located at the lower end of the duct and extending toward, but terminating short of, the cylindrical wall of the chamber, said baille being supported on the base of the chamber in any suitable manner, as for instance, by the brackets 48. It is to be understood that said ballie is not' always necessary as for example, when the material is disposed on the laterally-extending shelves hereinbefore mentioned, but its use is sometimes needed to avoid any direct current of air or short-circuit from the space or passage between the pan 14 and the inner wall of the chamber directly to the lower end of the duct when the material is suspended as by the hangers 29.

It will be noted that after the humidified air has been passe-d by the space in which the material is disposed for treatment, the impeller draws the same upwardly through the duct and then causes the same to pass again over the pan in contact with the liquid therein for further humidiiicaticn to replace the vapor content thereof which was absorbed by said material. While the impeller has been described as a fan for drawing a current o; the humidiiied air upwardly through the duct, it is to be understood that by properly arranging matters, the current of humidied air may be directed downwardly through said duct and upwardly through the space between the liquidcontainer and the wall of the chamber and then' across the pan to the upper end of ..the ductj. In either event, theremay be'a slow circulation 'of heated vapor or humidified air through the Space in which the material is hungbutr in neither case is such humidied air or Vapor directed forcibly into Contact with said material.

The water in the pan 14, not beingA heated in contactA with the upper wall 29 of` the, chamber and said upper wall or top closurenot being heat,-

insulated, it follows that there will be a certain amount of condensation of moisture on said upper wall which will drip into the circumferential pocket 32 and form an air-tight or water-sealed joint between the flange 31 of the top-closurefand Vthe'outer wall of the chamber 10. To prevent overflow of the liquid in` said pocketk down the cylindrical 'walls of the chamber, I may provide a conduit 49 connecting the upper portion of said pocket'to the pan 14 and inclined downwardly toward the latter.

The thermostatic and time-control devices that govern the temperature and regulate the periods of operation of the mulling box, respectively, may

conveniently be enclosed in the casing 50 secured l to the exterior wall of the chamber.

` Referring to Fig. 4 which shows a modified form` of mulling box whereby my method may be realized practice, the duct 24 extends to the base 12 which is provided with a series of apertures, 51 i disposed, preferably, circumferentially with respect to the axis of the spindle 25 and lying within that portion of said base with'which the end of the duct makes contact. The baseA is` provided also with a series of apertures 52, also disposed circumferentially with respect to the axis of the spindle and located in that portion of thejbase between the baiiie 47 and the inner wall of the chamber.

The operation is identical with that hercinbefore set forth with respect to Fig. 1, with theV ex'- ception that' air from without the chamber is drawn through the apertures 51 into the duct and thence along the surface of the liquidinthe pan, thereby humidifying the same, and after the humidified air has been passed by the space in which the material is disposed for treatment, it passes out of the chamber through the apertures 52, and does not again pass over the pan in contact with the liquid therein for further humidification. The apparatus shown in Fig. 1, however, is the preferred form of my invention because thereby there is replaced into the air the moisture that was lost by diffusion into the material, and a higher degree of humidication is maintained, with the result thatthe mulling action is expedited and complete mulling effected in less time than is possible without rehumidication.

Instead of returning the liquid condensation which accumulates in the gutter 32 to the pan in the manner above described in connection with Fig. 2, I may provide a pipe 53, as shown in Fig. 4, disposed between the inner and outer walls of the chamber and having its upper end terminating below the top of said pocket, whereby the liquid in saidY pocket is maintained at sufiicient depth to effect the water seal between the top closure and the chamber, and the surplus will be conveyed through said pipe to the pocket 54 formed between the inner and outer wall of the chamber by the inverted U-shaped member 55, which pocket is provided with a port, or series of ports 56, through which the liquid therein passes to the base of the chamber and thenceout through the apertures 52. It will be noted that the drain 43,

shown in Figs. i 'and 12, is 'unnecessary in the modi- -cation illustrated in Fig. 4. Y

' By means of my improved apparatus, I not only obtain absolute uniformity 'oi mulling but I am enabled greatly to reduce iirs't cost by providing a mulling box having minimum of cubical contents for a given quantity of material to be tre-ated and operated by a low-power impeller costing much less than the high-power blower which is necessary for forcibly directing humidied air into contact with the material, and also to reduce the operating costs by virtue of the comparatively small amount of energy required to actuate the motor and the heating unit, a relatively small heating unit sumcing on account of the practically negligible heat loss.

Having thus disclosed'illustrative embodiments of my invention whereby material may be conditioned, Without however limiting myseli` thereto,

what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1s:

l. Apparatus for conditioning material comprising in combination a chamber, a hollow member aiTording a duct disposed centrally Within said chamber and terminating short of oppositelydisposed walls thereof, means for supporting the material to be treated in said chamber, an open liquid-container disposed in the Vicinity of said duct, and means for moving a stream of air along the surface of aY liquid in said container and for directing the same through said duct.

2. Apparatus for conditioning material com-Y prising in combination a chamber, a hollow member affording a duct disposed centrally within said chamber and terminating short of oppositelydisposed walls thereof, means for supporting the material to be treated in said chamber, an open liquid-container disposed in the vicinity of said duct, and an impeller disposed in co-operative relation with said duct and container.

3. Apparatus for conditioning material comprising in combination a chamber, a hollow member aording a duct disposed centrally within said chamber and terminating short of the top vand bottom thereof, means for rotatablyv said hollow member, material-supporting means vsecured to and projecting from said hollow member, means for humidifying the air in` said chamber, and means for directing a current of such humidied air through said duct. l

4..Apparatus for conditioning material comprising in combination a chamber, an open liquid-container disposed Within said chamber, means for moving a stream of air along the 'surface of a liquid in said containena. gutter constructed and arranged to receive all of the liquid condensation formed on the. upper wall of said chamber and a conduit connecting said gutter to said container.-

5. Apparatus for conditioning material comprising in combination a chamber, a hollowy member affording a duct disposed within said chamber and terminating short of the top and bottom f thereof, means for humidifying the air in the upper portion of said chamber, a baille located at the lower end of said duct and extending toward the walls of said chamber, and an impeller disposed above the upper end of said duct.

6. Apparatus. for conditioning material comprising in combination a chamber, a hollow member affording a duct disposed within said chamber and terminating short of the top and bottom thereof, an open liquid-container disposed above the upper end of said duct, a baflie located `at the lower end of said duct and extending toward the walls of said chamber, and an imp ellerV disposed above the upper end of said duct. Y

7. Apparatus for conditioning material comprising in combination a chamber, a hollow member affording a duct disposed centrally within said chamber and terminating short of oppositely-disposed Walls thereof, means for supportingthe material to be treated in saidchamber, means for humidifying the air in'said chamber, a baille located at one end of said duct and extending toward the walls of said chambenand an impeller disposed in co-operative relation with said duct.

ELMER C. INGRAHAM. 

